Mitesh Parikh, a long-time macro investor at $12bn multi-manager hedge fund firm Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, has stepped away from running his trading book to focus on developing investment talent, according to a report by Business Insider.
The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the firm as revealing that Parikh, co-head of Schonfeld’s discretionary macro and fixed income unit alongside Colin Lancaster, ceased trading at the end of 2024. While his book was among the largest in the division, sources indicate the move was not performance-related, with Parikh having delivered profitable returns in each of the three years he managed capital at Schonfeld.
Since joining in 2021, Parikh and Lancaster have expanded the macro unit significantly, growing their team to over 60 investment professionals. Their arrival came after closing their hedge fund, Matador Investment Management, to build out Schonfeld’s discretionary macro platform.
With the division now at scale, Parikh, based in Dubai, has shifted his focus to business development and talent acquisition. His repositioning aligns with industry trends, where top investment managers are increasingly tasked with managing teams rather than trading.
Parikh’s transition mirrors moves by other hedge fund leaders: Steve Cohen stepped back from trading at Point72; Alan Howard no longer manages Brevan Howard’s strategies, and Bobby Jain, who raised over $5bn for his new fund, sold himself to investors as an executive leader rather than a trading specialist.
A similar shift occurred last year at Balyasny Asset Management, with the firm reallocating its top Asia equity portfolio manager to build out the firm’s regional investment team.
Parikh has also played a key role in Schonfeld’s Dubai expansion, helping the firm establish a broader presence in the Middle East. The firm has recruited portfolio managers across multiple strategies, including Delta One and equity long-short, reinforcing its footprint in the region.
Additionally, Schonfeld’s macro division pivoted in 2024 toward relative-value strategies, reducing exposure to more volatile directional trades. This move followed a challenging 2023, during which rumoors swirled about a potential takeover by Millennium Management.
Despite speculation, Schonfeld rebounded strongly in 2024, delivering a 19.7% return, outpacing Point72, Millennium, and Citadel. However, while the fund posted a 2.2% gain through February 2025, it faced headwinds from market volatility in early March.
